


And There's No One There

by StellarLibraryLady



Series: Star Trek The Gentle Seasons Series [54]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alien Planet, Developing Relationship, Disney Characters Mentioned - Freeform, Disney References, Idiots in Love, M/M, Music, Spring, Strange Phenomenon, song related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23017408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarLibraryLady/pseuds/StellarLibraryLady
Summary: Leonard McCoy cannot concentrate on his paperwork and there's a really wonderful reason why.  He just hasn't figured it out yet.
Relationships: Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock
Series: Star Trek The Gentle Seasons Series [54]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/695088
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	And There's No One There

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my "Bigger Than The Both Of Us" fic.

McCoy was oddly… unsettled. For lack of a better word, he was… unsettled. 

It was true that he’d rather be out in Sickbay patching someone up or maybe even somewhere showing some Romulan who was really in charge of the universe, instead of back here in his office trying to catch up on paperwork. But this was part of his responsibilities, too. He should be contended that all was going so well on this shift. And he was. It was just that he was….

...unsettled.

But that still didn’t explain why the damn report in front of his face wasn’t making any sense! 

It might as well be written in cuneiform instead of English. It might as well pertain to stratigraphic paleontology as to an analysis of the utilization of nutrition as experienced by crewman on a starship. It might as well be--

He slammed the report down in frustration. 

It might as well be toilet paper, because that was the only use he was ever going to get out of it!

With determination, he grabbed the report and vowed he would get through this thing!

“The unique multilateral effects of a complex organism existing and indeed thriving and being viable for not only itself but for the advancement of the requirements of its various duties and its mission inside of an unnaturally pressurized environment is highly contentious and depends on certain criteria which can be, and often are, highly unique unto themselves and should be therefore reliant upon certain other unknown factors which unto themselves are highly--”

He crossed his eyes and pulled his head away.

What the f*** kind of horse padudee was this mumble-jumble anyway! Who the hell wrote this gibberish?! Had they never heard of simple declarative sentences?! Subject, verb, object! Subject, verb, object! 

'Men need food. Space creates problems. What are solutions?'

There! Was that so hard?! There's your pattern! Follow it!

He widened his eyes for a moment, then set them grimly on the words again, hoping for the best.

And saw nothing more. Even the gibberish had disappeared. Now it was just random marks on the page and meant nothing.

He let his mind go blank to see what would happen. At this point, almost anything would be an improvement.

Indeed, he ‘saw’ what would happen.

Nothing.

Instead, he heard.

Off to the side, he heard.

Music!

Sweet, happy music!

Irving Berlin music!

Violins! Lots of violins! Playing a melody that was lilting and dipping and running away with itself! Over hill! Over dell! Happy, swelling, music! And stole McCoy's heart away!

An anthem to Spring and to Love!

And McCoy recognized it. It was a melody that had kept pestering McCoy at the edges of his consciousness until he couldn’t ignore it any longer. He had to acknowledge it.

And once it was acknowledged, it swept over him as if that was what it had been waiting to do all along.

Which it had.

And it grabbed Leonard McCoy.

As it always knew it would.

Spring is never subdued. It just bides its time. And a mere mortal like Leonard McCoy was about to learn that.

I hear singing and there's no one there  
I smell blossoms and the trees are bare  
All day long I seem to walk on air  
I wonder why, I wonder why  
I keep tossing in my sleep at night  
And what's more I've lost my appetite  
Stars that used to twinkle in the skies  
Are twinkling in my eyes I wonder why

McCoy had given into the promise of Spring completely. Indeed, why should he fight it? He felt like running. Skipping. Hopping along with a smile on his face and his eyes closed as he enjoyed Spring in all of its glory.

He sat back and closed his eyes with a contented smile curving along his lips. Spring had him in her velvet clutches! And he surrendered gladly as she paraded past all of her beguiling symbols just to seduce him.

Birds singing!

Soft breezes caressing his face and gently mussing his hair!

Lambs being born!

Newly hatched chicks peeping cheerfully and happily pecking at their new world with the egg tooth still attached to their tiny beaks!

The world opened up as pasty-pale people with eyes squinting against the sun's brightness appeared outdoors for the first time in months. People who had been housebound all Winter long were ready for softer times! Free! Free once more just to enjoy! And enjoy, they were determined to do!

It was wonderful!

But why was he, Leonard McCoy, being swept along with Spring's notions of letting loose and just enjoying life? Why was he being entitled to all of this joy and lightness of spirit?

Leonard McCoy wasn’t exactly the poster child for the Bohemian life. People didn’t automatically picture him when they thought of someone who was carefree and romantic and Devil-may-care. No, his symbols would be dedication and crankiness and a short fuse. He’d snap at a person and not bother to clean up his mess, because he thought he was right and therefore exempt from social correctness.

Why was that Leonard McCoy acting like he’d like to frolic in a pasture with those newborn sheep and those peeping baby chicks? Why was he wanting to declare that Spring was finally here and that Love was in the air? Why was he wanting to broadcast on a ship-wide channel so that he could sing that Irving Berlin song to all of his crew mates so they could feel as soft and happy as he was feeling? Why was he wanting to tell of the glories of love so that the whole universe would thrum with unity and renewed joy?

Maybe it had something to do with Spock.

That thought made McCoy pause and it stopped the music dead. Well, except for some soft snatches of the melody playing somewhere in the background. McCoy had a feeling that that tune wasn’t going away anytime soon.

He let himself remember what he’d been trying to forget: That away mission yesterday when he and Spock and several others were exploring that strange planet and had been impressed by the exuberant quality of the air as they had walked around the luxurious foliage. 

“Notice that?” McCoy had asked. “There’s almost a feel of expectancy, like something wonderful is about to happen.”

“This planet's atmosphere probably contains too rich of a mixture of helium or oxygen in its breathable layer for our bodily purposes,” Spock had noted dryly. 

“You have no romance in your soul!” McCoy had snarled.

“It is not my soul that concerns me, but rather what is causing that low rumbling that is getting louder.”

“Rumbling, hell! That’s some sort of landslide, and it’s headed our way! We have to get out of here!”

They raced for the space shuttle, but had a difficult time of running until they joined arms to hold each other up. That at least gave them some stability until they were safely inside and on their way back to the Enterprise.

“I think something got pissed off at us!” McCoy declared with wild eyes as he looked back at the planet. “I think we weren’t giving it a proper amount of appreciation.”

“There you go romanticizing again,” Spock mumbled from the controls.

And that was where they had left it, but apparently what they had pissed off wasn’t through with them. At least not with McCoy, and suddenly he was curious about Spock and if he was noticing anything strange.

“McCoy to Kirk,” McCoy instructed as he punched the comm without thinking. If he had thought, he might’ve reconsidered. But at this point, he wasn’t thinking. He just hoped he wouldn’t be questioned by Kirk about his motives.

“Kirk here.”

“Send Spock to Sickbay. I want to do a follow-up.”

“He’s already on his way.”

McCoy frowned. “Oh?” Here McCoy expected to get questioned, and Kirk just acted disgusted, especially after McCoy mentioned Spock's name. “Is there a problem with Spock?”

“That’s what I want you to tell me.”

McCoy forgot about Spring and her wanton ways. He was suddenly concerned for his friend. “There is a problem with Spock!”

“Relax. Green blood isn’t running all over the Bridge, nor is Spock dangling a broken arm. He just seems to lack… focus.”

McCoy was confused. “Focus? What would cause that?”

“Again, something else you need to tell me.”

“What happened?”

“Everything was going fine until he began describing a necklace of sparkling gems on his scanner screen. He got quite excited about them and wanted all of us to come see what he had spotted.”

“Sparkling gems?” McCoy echoed.

“Both Chekov and I got up to look. That’s when we saw a cluster of asteroids! Not gems! Asteroids!”

“So Spock’s having hallucinations?”

“Obviously! Or he’s speaking poetically. He really could describe those gems! And how they sparkled and scintillated. Scintillated! Who uses a word like 'scintillated' and keeps a straight face?! When Chekov and I tried to explain what we were seeing, he asked us to be quiet, because he said that we were interrupting the music for him.”

“What music?”

“The music he was hearing! And no one else!”

“Music?” McCoy mumbled, suddenly realizing that something was starting to sound familiar.

“Yes, music! Why am I having to repeat everything to you?! Don’t tell me that you’re hearing music, too!”

Well, yeah, McCoy wanted to say, but he figured that Kirk really didn’t want to hear about it.

“I’ll check him out,” McCoy said without answering Kirk’s question.

“I’m glad someone will be! Kirk out!” he grumbled as he ended the transmission.

McCoy started to rise when his comm beeped. “McCoy,” he answered.

“Doctor, Mr. Spock is here to see you.”

“Send him in, Hutchins,” he told his nurse. Maybe this examination should be private.

A moment later, his door slid open and Spock walked in. “Doctor.” His voice was as noncommittal as a doorpost. His blank face and eyes matched.

“Mr. Spock,” McCoy greeted in the same deadpan tones. “May I help you?”

“I have been informed that I seem to be having some auditory problems.”

“Are any of the other senses involved?”

“Apparently sensory, also,” Spock said with a mighty sigh as he drew his hands behind his back.

“Apparently?” McCoy questioned. He remembered what Kirk had said about the asteroids.

“On my scanner I very clearly saw a gigantic string of sparkling gems that were quite a remarkable phenomenon against the blackness of space. Captain Kirk and Mr. Chekov, however, claim that they were observing only a cluster of passing asteroids which were glittering probably from a high concentration of silica on their surfaces. I maintain that Captain Kirk and Mr. Chekov might have been the victims of mass hysteria since a string of sparkling gems were plainly visible on the scanner when I was observing it.”

“Anything is possible,” McCoy agreed and hoped he wasn’t sounding too condescending. “And what auditory problems have you been experiencing?”

"I have been hearing music.”

“Ah! And the others on the Bridge didn’t hear the music?”

“At that point, I thought it highly prudent not to draw attention to the music I was hearing. After the reception that my necklace description received, I decided to keep observations about other unique phenomenon to myself.”

“Ah, I don’t blame you. About this music….” McCoy was fairly bursting to learn about what Spock had been hearing. “Was it invigorating? Inspiring?” He lowered his voice. “Romantic?”

“It was ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ and I kept seeing a cartoon cricket singing it.”

“Jiminy Cricket,” McCoy mumbled in awe.

Spock looked insulted. “You do not need to curse me, Doctor."

"Jiminy Cricket was a play on words in the movie. It's a minced oath for the deity."

Spock was not too impressed or amused by McCoy's information. "As interesting as all of that is, it does not explain away why I was hearing a cartoon character singing that particular song. I know how startling it sounds, but that is what I experienced.”

“No, no. Jiminy Cricket is out of ‘Pinocchio.’ You’ve got your Disney characters mixed up.”

Spock frowned. “So not only are my senses of sight and sound affected, but also my knowledge banks of miscellaneous information and trivia.”

McCoy shrugged. “I figured you just didn’t know Dumbo from Donald Duck in the Disney universe.”

Spock drew himself up. “I take offense to that, Doctor. Dumbo does not speak while Donald Duck is quite verbose.”

“Dumbo speaks later on, when he grows up and finds his voice.” He screwed his eyes shut and made a swatting motion. “Why are we arguing about cartoon characters?! This isn’t helping you or the situation any!” 

“I sincerely hope that you can help me, Doctor. I find it very disconcerting that Captain Kirk in particular did not believe me.” He cautiously glanced at McCoy. “I expect that you will not believe me, either.”

“On the contrary, Mr. Spock,” McCoy said with a genial smile. “Have you experienced any other instances of strange occurrences lately?”

Spock seemed reluctant to answer, but finally did. “Last night, in my quarters, I kept hearing someone calling my name quite melodically. It was very pleasing to the ear. Almost musically enticing.” Then Spock for some reason dropped to present tense. “I want to see who this wonderful person is who wants me. But I am disappointed. I turn and there is no one there.”

Spock's phraseology drew McCoy’s attention. “And there is no one there?” he repeated. "Those exact words?"

“Yes. And there is no one there. Why? Is that important?”

“Maybe,” McCoy answered as he heard again the first line of the Irving Berlin song: “I hear singing and there's no one there.”

"You have a strange look on your face, Doctor. What are you thinking?"

"I think I know what's wrong with you, but you're going to have to bear with me a moment while I explain. And you're going to have to set logic aside."

"Logic? I do not know if I can do that."

"It's not gonna be logical what I tell you. But I'm having some of the same auditory problems you are."

"You are? Really?"

"That phrase you just used. And there's no one there? That's been going through my head all day. Well, really since last night."

"Just that phrase? You must be at your wit's end," Spock said with sympathy.

McCoy grinned. "No, there's a whole song. An old Irving Berlin song. Nostalgic and romantic as hell."

"There is danger that I might also be hearing a whole song in the near future?" Spock asked with a frown. "I do not know if I will be able to tolerate that. What will come next for us? Love beads and unicorn sightings?"

McCoy laughed. "Let's hope not. But anything's possible, I suppose."

"But what caused such odd symptoms in us so suddenly?"

"You remember yesterday when we were on that away mission and I said that I thought we'd pissed off that planet? Well, I believe we really did."

"But how did we do that?"

"Remember I remarked how everything seemed so exciting there? Like something wonderful was going to happen? Well, I believe it was supposed to, but we ignored it. That planet was setting up a romantic interlude for us, and we as much as slapped it in the face. No wonder it started a landslide that sent us running. But that might've been another attempt to influence us, too, because we couldn't get anywhere except when we put our arms around each other. We needed and wanted each other then. Of course, it was for safety, but the planet wasn't picky about reasons by that time. It just wanted us physically together. And that's when that conniving planet planted a seed in us."

"A seed?"

"A seed of love," McCoy said softly as he stepped toward Spock. "If you don't believe me, just put your arms around me and see what happens to us next."

Spock never did get to find out exactly what McCoy meant, because at that point the guys began to figure things out on their own, with or without the influence of any romantic planet or of any old love ballad.

McCoy didn't tell Spock how the old Irving Berlin song ended, at least not then. He wanted to keep it to himself and savor it for just a little while longer all to himself.

"We're not sick, we're just in love."

Sometime later, Kirk called Sickbay. There was a note of exasperation in his voice. "Where's my First Officer?"

"He's still in consultation with Dr. McCoy," Hutchins answered.

"Really?!" Kirk scoffed. "Did the good doctor have anything to say about Mr. Spock's prognosis?!"

"Well, sir, he did leave a message for you in case you called, but it didn't make much sense."

"I'll be the judge of that, nurse! What's the message?!"

"Dr. McCoy said that if Kirk called to just say, 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah!' from him and Mr. Spock. Does that make any sense to you, sir?"

"Believe it or not, Hutchins, it does. Kirk out."

Kirk grinned. Oh, hell, he thought. Love finally snagged those two!

Ah, Spring! Nothing can resist her!

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing of Star Trek, its characters, and/or its story lines.


End file.
